[Virtual Event] AIFC: Khunsi Onikan - Wellbriety/Medicine Wheel 12 Steps Meeting
2025-02-27 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-03-06 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-03-13 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-03-20 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-03-27 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago)
Open to anyone wanting to work on recovery from any addiction.
Every Thursday at 7 pm CST, AIFC’s Khunsi Onikan program will sponsor a culturally based recovery support Wellbriety/Medicine Wheel 12-step meeting for the community; anyone wanting to work on recovery from any addictions is welcome to attend.
No need to register in advance.
Click here to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89255163167?pwd=[REDACTED]

AIFC: Waaban Ogimaawag - Life Skills for Youth
2025-03-01 13:00 - 15:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States
Join us on Saturday, March 1, 2025, from 1-3PM for Life Skills for Youth.
We will be crafting and making tie blankets (no-sew fleece blankets)! We will also have lunch.
What’s a tie blanket?
A tie blanket provides warmth and comfort by creating a textured, cozy blanket through the process of tying together strips of fabric, often made from fleece, which makes it a great option for cuddling up and feeling snuggly; it’s a popular choice for its soft texture and easy, no-sew construction method.
All Youth ages 14-24 are welcome!

[Virtual Event] AIFC: Khunsi Onikan - Well-Anon (Native American Al-Anon) Meeting
2025-03-04 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-03-11 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-03-18 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-03-25 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-04-01 19:00 - 20:00
Open to anyone wanting to learn to have healthy boundaries and healthy relationships with the other addicts/alcoholics in their lives.
Join us every Tuesday at 7 PM CST for help and hope.
Suppose you have a loved one dealing with addiction. In that case, our Khunsi Onikan Program sponsors these weekly Native American culturally-based, one-hour meetings to help you establish healthy boundaries and relationships.
Join the meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89255163167?pwd=[REDACTED]

Wednesday Community Nights
2025-03-05 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-03-19 18:00 - 20:00 | American Indian Magnet School (AIMS), 1075 Third Street East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Drum and Dance: ADYC & Imnizaska
Sewing/Beading Society: Families of Tradition
Family Talking Circle: Families of Tradition
Continuous School Improvement Updates: American Indian Magnet School

In collaboration with: Ain Dah Yung Center, American Indian Family Center, SPPS Indian Education Program, and American Indian Magnet School.

[CANCELED] Wednesday Community Nights
2025-03-05 18:00 - 20:00 | American Indian Magnet School (AIMS), 1075 Third Street East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States

AIFC: Traditional Crafting Group
2025-03-06 10:00 - 14:00, 2025-03-13 10:00 - 14:00, 2025-03-20 10:00 - 14:00, 2025-03-27 10:00 - 14:00, 2025-04-03 10:00 - 14:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States
Come on over to AIFC on Thursdays from 10AM – 2PM for our Traditional Crafting Group!
Feel free to bring crafts you’re already working on, or check out our supplies to start a craft.
This group is facilitated by AIFC’s Treatment Coordinator, experienced crafter, and beader, Sasina Samreth (White Earth Nation).

AIFC: Women's Sweat
2025-03-07 17:00 | Belwin Conservancy, 1553 Stagecoach Trail South, Afton, MN, 55001, United States
Please plan to arrive by 5 PM so we can enter the lodge at 6 PM.
A light meal will also be shared afterward. You are welcome to bring food to share, but it isn’t required.
Facilitated by Sharyl Whitehawk every first Friday of the month; please call to verify.

What to bring and wear: a loose-fitting dress, shorts or skirt for inside the lodge, a loose-fitting shirt, a change of clothes for after, a towel, drinking water, and a dish to share after sweat (optional). A modest T-shirt or top is also acceptable when wearing a long skirt or shorts.
AIFC’s Women’s Sweats are regularly scheduled. If you are interested in attending one or have questions, please contact Sharyl Whitehawk at (651) 505-6838, (719) 322-4447, or Sharyl.Whitehawk@aifcmn.org.
Miigwech!
Directions to the sweat lodge: Turn left into the drive, and then open the gate (it’s not locked but looks like it is) and drive through, staying to the right at 2 forks until you go up a small hill where the sweat lodge and a parking area is.
Sweat Lodge teachings: A sweat lodge is a tool for healing everything that a person wants healing for. It begins with a firepit where your intentions for the sweat are given with tobacco. The firepit represents the Creator, whereas the fire has the power of transformation. So, it holds the stones, heating them and getting them ready for healing work. The path to the lodge is a lifetime of unresolved issues that you carry with you. As you enter the Eastern doorway you announce yourself by Spirit Name and clan. If you do not have them, just use your English name. You sit where the person pouring assigns you.
In most cases, the women come in first, and then the men. The stones are brought in by a firekeeper who brings in the Grandfathers and Grandmothers (stones) with the person who is pouring guidance. The lodge’s people are reconnected to their first mother, the Earth. The sweat lodge and the firepit in the lodge are dome-shaped and represent the womb and have the power of rebirth. The stones once brought in become grandmothers and grandfathers who heard the intentions and will come in to help. The doorway is closed, and the four directions are honored and asked to assist. It can be hot when water is added to the grandmothers and grandfathers. Steam is the conductor of transformation. The steam pulls out the trapped issues or problems that the person is hanging onto and releases them so that healing can happen. The songs, prayers, and medicines shared in the lodge help people let go of their resistance.
The time in the sweat lodge varies as well as the number of stones used. It can be as short as an hour or up to 2 hours long. It can have 7 up to 42 stones. It can be done in any part of the day. A sweat lodge is a healing tool that has been passed down for generations and is changing with the times.
Artwork: “The Lodge” by Sharifah

Honoring John "Azhide" Bobolink (1968-2024) Powwow: Healing in Four Directions
2025-03-09 13:00 | Johnson Senior High School, 1349 Arcade Street, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
+ WHAT TO EXPECT:The American Indian Family Center (AIFC) is honored to co-host the Honoring John “Azhide” Bobolink Pow Wow on Sunday, March 9, 2025, at Johnson Senior High School. The Pow Wow is paying tribute to St. Paul Public Schools’ Indian Education Supervisor and community partner, John Bobolink, who passed away in February 2024.

+ All are welcome to attend this free community Pow Wow, featuring drum groups, dancers, local vendors, education booths, and food trucks. The Grand Entry will be at 1 p.m., and a feast will be served at 6 p.m.

+ All dancers and drums are welcome. To receive an honorarium, you must register onsite. Registration is open from 12 to 2 p.m.

Arena director: Norman BensonEmcees: Jerry Dearly and Deanna StandingCloud
Host drum group: Ain Dah Yung SingersCo-host drum group (youth): Painted Elk Singers
Invited drums: Raining Thunder SingersHead dancers: Dennis Gilbert, Afton Delgado
Teaching by: Bruce SonnenbergSongs by: Raining Thunder/Fish Dance Snake Dance

+ Location: Johnson Senior High School1349 Arcade St., St. Paul, MN 55106

+ Vendor spots available, contact: pam.gokey@aifcmn.org, 651-504-2944

+ For questions, contact: monique.nelson@fairview.org, 612-484-1309

Sponsored by:Department of Indian Work, Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul
American Indian Family CenterM Health FairviewMinnesota Indian Affairs Council
Montessori American Indian Childcare CenterSaint Paul Public Schools Indian Education ProgramSouth St. Paul Public Schools American Indian Education Program

AIFC: Ombi'ayaa Anishinaabe-Ininiiwug (Rise Up Original Men) - Men's Smudge and Support Group
2025-03-10 17:30 - 20:30, 2025-03-24 17:30 - 20:30 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States
Join American Indian Family Center’s Father & Men’s Outreach Specialist, Nate Bordeaux, for an in-person Men’s Smudge and Support Group.
It will be a potluck, so please bring a dish to share if you can!
Don’t miss this chance to gather with other American Indian men to explore your identity, participate in your culture, and support each other.
Questions? Contact Nate Bordeaux at Nate.Bordeaux@aifcmn.org or (651) 505-6820.

AIFC: Anishinaabemowin Zagaswe'idiing: Ojibwe Language Table with Kaagegaabaw James Vukelich
2025-03-12 17:30 - 20:00 | Elders Lodge, 1500 Magnolia Ave E, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Please join us for an Ojibwe language table facilitated by Indigenous Culture and Language Specialist Kaagegaabaw James Vukelich on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

A potluck dinner begins at 5:30PM, followed by a Pipe Ceremony and language & cultural teachings. Please bring a dish to share!

Location: Elders Lodge (1500 Magnolia Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN 55106)

Questions? Please contact Dawn Alteri at (651) 504-5998.

AIFC: Waaban Ogimaawag (Tomorrow's Leaders) - Full Moon Ceremony
2025-03-13 17:00 | Belwin Conservancy Savanna Center, 795 Indian Trail South, Afton, MN, 55001, United States
🌕 AIFC Waaban Ogimaawag (Tomorrow’s Leaders) invites you to a Full Moon Ceremony on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 5:00PM.

Who: Relatives who receive their menstrual (moon) cycles or have reached menopause; the ceremony includes Two-Spirit and trans relatives!

Where: Belwin Conservancy Savanna Center, 795 Indian Trail S, Afton, MN 55001

Please bring a long skirt, copper cup, small bowl, spoon (extras will be provided as supplies last), hair bundle*, a watecha bowl (Tupperware, etc.) to take home leftovers, and a dish to share if you are able.

*Hair Bundle (optional): Hair bundles are not required to participate but may be offered during the ceremony if desired. To make your own, start collecting loose strands from your brush, shower, or clothes!

We are honored to have you join us during this special time as we hold a ceremony for Grandmother Moon!

For more information, contact Pam Gokey at Pam.Gokey@aifcmn.org, or (651) 504-2944.

🎨: Jessica Gokey (@j_leigh_gokey)

AIFC: Waaban Ogimaawag - Life Skills for Youth
2025-03-15 13:00 - 15:00, 2025-03-29 13:00 - 15:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States

AIFC: Pipe Ceremony
2025-03-16 16:00 | Elders Lodge, 1500 Magnolia Ave E, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Gitchiayaayag, Richard Wright (Bear Clan, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), will be the spiritual advisor for the pipe ceremony.
Pipe carriers are welcome to bring their pipes.
We’ll have a potluck-style meal.
Please bring a dish to share if you can.
For more information: Contact Laura Trujillo at Laura.Trujillo@aifcmn.org or (651) 505-6815.

AIFC: Young Waaban Ogimaawag (Tomorrow's Leaders) - Maple Syruping
2025-03-22 11:00 - 12:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States

[CANCELED] AIFC: Waaban Ogimaawag - Life Skills for Youth
2025-03-29 13:00 - 15:00 | American Indian Family Center (AIFC), 579 Wells St, Saint Paul, MN, 55130, United States
